One
by The Big Fisch
Summary: A story of a Templar warrior turned Dragoon. Based on the Metallica song, One. Please read and review.


This story was written, and should be read, while listening to One, by Metallica. 

            Talanassi dove at a Hydralisk, his psi-blades cutting into the carapace of the insect-like alien. Jumping back, with his arms crossed, he lunged for the Zerg's neck with swinging his arms back across themselves. The result was the decapitation of the Hydralisk. Talanassi's eyes glowed briefly as adrenaline pumped through his system, the excitement from the battle surging within him, causing him to go into the Euphoria that he always experienced in battle, regardless of the situation.

            A zergling pounced on his and made to slice him open from behind. Instead of standing rigid, the battle hardened Zealot relaxed himself totally, allowing him to roll forward and throw the zergling off his back. In one smooth movement, Talanassi finished his roll, dove forward, and stabbed the zergling in the head with his psi-sword. The small Zerg made a noise that sounded similar to someone saying "erk", then slumped forward and was dead before it hit the ground. Just for good measure, Talanassi cut the creature in half. Risking a quick glance at the rest of the battle, Talanassi saw that his forces were being overcome. For all of 5 seconds, the templar's eyes glowed a dangerous shade of blood red, and then he called out to his communications officer.

             **Your command, sir?** The reply came almost immediately. This caused pride to swell momentarily in Talanassi's soul. Despite being in a battle that would most likely result in defeat, his troops still practiced strict military discipline as though they were born to it. 

            **We are loosing, and cannot afford to have all our forces wiped out right now. Call in for evacuation shuttles, double time. Go to it! The Templar ordered, dodging the spore blast from a Hydralisk and slicing it open with one clean strike.**

            **By your word, sir, it shall be done! Came the reply, and not 2 seconds after the order was given. Again, pride in his army swelled in Talanassi's stomach, and he fought on harder then ever. Within 15 minutes of the order being given, the shuttles were hovering over the ground, allowing Protoss warriors to climb in and escape Death itself. Talanassi, being the honor-lead warrior that he was, made sure that he was last off the battle field, as he had been the first to enter it. Something caught his eye before he began to board the robotic transport. A lone Zealot was still fighting, though he looked very injured. Without hesitation, Talanassi charged towards the ring of Zerg all around the wounded zealot.**

            **FOR ADUNE! Talanassi cried as he tackled 2 hydralisks from behind, in the process stabbing both through the head. The bodies slid off his blades as soft butter would off a hot knife. Standing up, he kicked a zergling into the air and cut him with both blades, causing the corpse to fall apart in an X pattern. ****RUN! I'll hold them off, just get back to the shuttle! Talanassi bellowed as he sliced an arm off a Hydralisk that was close enough to him. **

            **But sir...**

            **NOW! Talanassi screamed, feeling his shields starting to give into the overwhelming amount of abuse they had sustains thus far. Without arguing, the younger Zealot ran for the Shuttle, cutting down Zerg as he went. Talanassi felt, with a slight shudder, his shields give away. 3 Zerg attacked at once. The spray from a Hydralisk caught him in the face, a zergling bounded up and embedded its claws in his midsection, and another Hydralisk came up and cut his left arm off. Stumbling, Talanassi was on the verge of collapse. His remaining psi-blade flickered for a moment, then died. He knew that he was close to death at this point. He saw the Hydralisk that had maimed him slither in front of him and draw back to deliver the finishing blow. Not a second before the attack came, the Zerg exploded as high velocity energy slugs tore through it. Looking up, Talanassi saw several scouts zoom past. The shuttle that was waiting for him flew closer now that the threat was momentarily gone. Several zealots pulled the critically injured Templar into the shuttle, which then closed the doors to the hold and rocketed up off the planet. He had barely felt being laid down, and Talanassi was in the shuttle for no more then 30 seconds before all his senses shut down and he was swallowed by darkness.**

_I can't remember anything  
Can't tell if this is true or dream  
Deep down inside I feel to scream  
This terrible silence stops me_

            He opened his eyes, and what he saw told him that his eyes were no longer normal. His vision spectrum was normal right now, but he found that he could switch between infrared, electromagnetic, heat, and night vision. He could see a HUD hovering in front of him, and no matter which way he looked, it was there. He could not remember his name, or how he had gotten to his current state, but that was soon not much of a concern. The memories of his past, the battle in which he lost his true life, all came flooding back in 3 seconds. 

_Now that the war is through with me  
I'm waking up, I cannot see  
That there's not much left of me  
Nothing is real but pain now_

            He remembered how he had been so badly injured, and what happened when the mind of a warrior was alive, but the body unable to sustain life. They placed the body into a dragoon. The cold, dead, shell of a machine. And, Talanassi found out several second later that his injuries, though healed, still caused him pain, and he knew why.

            **Keep the Dragoons in pain, so that they know that they're still alive. He said to himself, and was alarmed to hear a voice respond.**

            **Yes, I suppose that IS the reason why you can still feel pain, my old friend. The voice was extremely familiar to Talanassi, and it should be, he had only known the owner of the voice for nearly 400 years.**

            **Malachi. How long has it been since I was inserted into this metallic hell? Talanassi asked, anger flooding his partially robotic voice. **

            **About 2 weeks, old friend. Malachi answered, coming out of the shadows of the hanger bay Talanassi noticed they were in.**

            **And I presume that you did nothing to stop them from putting me into this, this...PRISON, did you? Talanassi, as was known by his closest and most trusted friends, hated the thought of an honorable death in battle being stolen from a warrior by placing him into a Dragoon. Talanassi sensed the frustration in his long time friend.**

**            Talanassi, I wasn't even given the chance to stop them. I arrived here with my fleet 3 days ago. Our wonderful, caring commanders didn't even bother to notify your next of kin that you had "died" in battle. By the time I arrived, you were already installed and put into stasis.** Malachi said. Talanassi growled when Malachi mentioned him being installed. 

_Hold my breath as I wish for death_

_Oh please God, wake me_

            **Gods, but no one deserves this fate! Why take the honor away from a soldier! Talanassi yelled, anger boiling in veins that he knew did nothing anymore.**

            **Calm down, Talanassi. You must look at it differently. To some, getting the chance to return from the clutches of death as a Dragoon is an even greater honor then a valiant death! It proves that you have shown your worth on the battlefield enough that you get a second chance at a warrior's life. **

What Malachi was saying made perfect sense, and that only annoyed Talanassi. He knew that his friend was right.

            **I know, old friend, and I am sorry for venting my rage on you. But, tell me, what is the point of living if you cannot feel the elation of battle? I know what they do to dragoons. I can sense it inside my shell even now. They inhibit emotions and the flow of adrenaline. Don't you see what they are trying to do? They have made me into a living machine, a robot with the mind of a warrior. **

            This, too, made sense. It had always made Malachi curious how warriors that had so much zeal in life could act so lifeless, so robotic when they were placed into a Dragoon. But, the High Templar didn't have a chance to respond. The ship-wide PA blared out the call to general quarters. Malachi looked at his friend. The friend that he would no longer be able to see. 

            **I am truly sorry that I failed you, old friend. Malachi sighed. **

            **Nonsense, you haven't failed anyone. Go, Malachi, and prepare to view the bloodbath from your Arbiter. Replied Talanassi. Malachi gave his semi-mechanical friend a curious look.**

            **But I will be participating in...**

            **No, you will be watching me tear my enemies apart. Talanassi said, starting towards the shuttle that just dropped from its docking space above them. **Adune tor'eh'thas, old friend. **And with those last words, Talanassi lumbered into the waiting transport, behind a first dragoon that had entered slightly faster. Malachi nodded and left for his awaiting Arbiter.**

_Back in the womb it's much too real_

_In pumps life that I must feel_

_But can't look forward to reveal_

_Look to the time when I'll live_

            The situation on the ground was getting steadily worse for the Protoss. In fact, the strike force that Talanassi and Malachi were in was the last chance for the Protoss. If the attack failed, the world would be declared lost to the Zerg, and they would begin orbital bombardment. Normally, this would have happened long ago, but the first creation of the Xel'Naga would rather like to inhabit the lush planet, so they were fighting tooth and claw over it. 

            Talanassi felt the usual pre-battle surge of energy, and then was disheartened when the dragoon's emotion control circuits kicked in and attempted to calm him. However, and this was among the first few times that this had EVER happened in the entire history of the Dragoon, the circuits were _failing! So strong was the warrior spirit in Talanassi that what was left of his body was surging with adrenaline. To this luck, the doors opened. Talanassi shoved his comrade out the transport and dove into the battle. He landed on top of a Defiler just as it was unearthing itself to attack. Needless to say, the disease-ridden Zerg was crushed to a pulp. _

            **Now, FEEL MY WRATH! Talanassi cried as he charged his cannon and loosed a shot at a passing zergling. The small alien was vaporized instantly. An ultralisk turned and charged the berserk dragoon, and smashed into it. The massive Zerg creature was completely covering the trampled dragoon. It gave a satisfied growl, and a second later its head exploded from the pulse cannon shot that Talanassi had released. The Templar surged his machine into a jump, forcing the dead hulk off him, and while in the air he launched several shots off at some passing mutalisks. Landing on a couple of hydralisks (crushing both to death) Talanassi found his next targets and went after them. **

_Fed through the tube that sticks in me_

_Just like a wartime novelty_

_Tied to machines that make me be_

_Cut this life off from me_

            **All you foul Zerg are the cause for my suffering, and I shall now RECTIFY YOUR MISTAKES! Bellowed Talanassi. He had never before felt so alive in battle, so attuned to his surroundings. Between his adrenaline high and the added effect of his dragoon hardware, Talanassi reached the state of mind that all warriors, of any race, strived to reach all their lives, he was the perfect warrior. Calm, yet a raging beast. Calculating, yet aggressive as any threatened hornet had ever been. The bond of living being and machine was so strong that time seemed to slow down, though Talanassi still thought at the same speed. In effect, though his actual movements were no faster then any other dragoons, his reaction time had shot through the roof. And the pile of bodies that were accumulating around him, or anywhere NEAR him for that matter, gave proof to this.**

_Hold my breath as I wish for death_

_Oh please God, wake me_

            Yet, he missed the feeling of soil underneath his boots, of wind whipping all around him. although he loved the feeling he was now experiencing, Talanassi knew the real reason behind his all out aggressiveness. 

_Now the world is gone I'm just one_

_Oh God help me_

_Hold my breath as I wish for death_

_Oh please God, help me_

            He knew that, despite how well he did, he did not want to return to the ship alive in any way. His anger fueled him, egged him on. He killed Zerg off by the dozen. Trampling, blasting, stabbing, tackling (though the last one only applied to the ultralisks that got too close to him). 

_Darkness Imprisoning me_

_All that I see_

_Absolute horror_

_I cannot live_

_I cannot die_

_Trapped in myself_

_Body my holding cell_

            Spikes erupted from the ground in front of him, and, his shields already depleted, stabbed into the bottom of his "body". In retaliation, Talanassi ran forward to the origin of the spikes, stabbed down, and pulled up. The head of a lurker came up with it, roaring in agony and rage. One shot from the pulse cannon and there was no longer a head to make any noise whatsoever. In a blind rage, Talanassi charged on. He had now accounted for an 8th of the Zerg kills since his strike force landed. Keeping in mind how many were in this strike force, it was pretty damn impressive what a berserk, desperate dragoon could accomplish. The wound the lurker had inflicted put Talanassi one step closer to his goal.

            **I! he bellowed, charging forward and tackling an ultralisk, then blowing half its face off.**

            **WANT! He yelled as he trampled 3 hydralisks while blasting several zerglings to piles of mush. **

            **TO! He screamed, dodging a row of spikes and blasting away at a seemingly random point on the battlefield, though the eruption of blood showed that it had been the hiding spot for the unlucky lurker that had just attacked him**

            **DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! He screamed will all the rage, hate, and despair that had built up in him since he first awoke in the shell of the dragoon.**

_Landmine_

_Has taken my sight_

_Taken my speech_

_Taken my hearing_

_Taken my arms_

_Taken my legs_

_Taken my soul_

_Left me with a life in Hell_

            So immersed in the battle was he that Talanassi didn't take any notice of the pair of diseased looking arms that popped up through the soil. The arms pulled up the rest of the infested Terran, and it sprinted towards its target. Talanassi turned and saw it coming, and, instead of dodging or destroying it, he charged it. 

            The result was a massive explosion that, when the smoke cleared, revealed nothing but bits of Zerg and metal lying on the ground, smoldering. In some spots, there were little puddles of bluish liquid. 

            Malachi sighed as he watched his friend end his own life. He knew that it was what he wanted, so he didn't feel any grief.

            **There, Talanassi, old friend. You have reached your final resting place, and can now be contented with your honor for the rest of eternity. May Adune lend you his guidance. Until the next time. The Templar finished his prayer and ordered the mass recall of the Protoss army. The battle was lost, and it was time to burn all life on it to ash.**

Well, there you have it. This was my first attempt at a Starcraft story. I wanted to let my skills as a writer improve before I got into the world of one of the greatest games of all time. Thanks for reading!

Rock on,

The Big Fisch


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